1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an in-vivo image acquiring system which acquires an image of an inside of a subject, an in-vivo image processing method, and a body-insertable apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, a swallowable capsule endoscope has been developed in a field of endoscope. The capsule endoscope has an imaging function and a wireless-transmission function, and has a mechanism such that the capsule endoscope is swallowed from a mouth of a patient for observing an inside of a body cavity, and successively captures an inside of organs such as an esophagus, a stomach, and a small intestine due to a peristalsis until naturally excreted (e.g., see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-19111).
Image data captured by the capsule endoscope inside a body is successively transmitted to an outside of the body via a wireless transmission while the capsule endoscope moves through the body cavity, and then stored in a memory in a receiving apparatus arranged outside the body. A doctor or a nurse can have a diagnosis with the image data stored in the memory being displayed on a display.
The capsule endoscope described has a lens and a signal processing function which are designed with optical performance corresponding to the applied area. For example, in the capsule endoscope for a small intestine, the lens and the signal processing function are designed with the optical performance where a focus meets at a near point for observing a wall surface of the small intestine having a small inner diameter. Further, the capsule endoscope generally captures organs other than the applied area of the capsule endoscope, and transmits a huge number of images until naturally excreted.
In the conventional capsule endoscope, however, the optical performance is designed corresponding to the applied area, and the appropriate optical performance is not guaranteed for organs other than the applied area. Images of the organs other than the applied area are captured not properly enough to be able to be examined, and the images cannot be used for the examination. Thus, all images but those of the applied area in the huge number of images captured by the capsule endoscope are wasted. Further, when the images of organs other than the applied area need to be taken, the subject has to swallow the capsule endoscope which is designed with the optical performance to be able to capture the organs to be captured again, and the burden of the subject is increased.